Race in sands is Long Beach man's ultimate challenge
LONG BEACH – John Callos Jr. has built a comfortable life. He and his wife, April, own a sprawling home in upscale Park Estates that they share with their 16-year-old son, Connor. The house is filled with all the luxuries of success.
So, why does Callos spend cold nights on top of rocks in a backyard tent in flimsy clothing and a nearly see-through sleeping bag?
It’s not that April has thrown him out, though the idea may cross her mind from time to time. No, it’s all preparation for the next event in what Callos calls his hobby, but others suspect is his obsession.
Today Callos is leaving his creature comforts behind to spend a torturous week competing in an event called Marathon des Sables, or Marathon of the Sands, in the Sahara desert in Morocco.
Conducted in six stages and covering roughly 150 miles, or a marathon a day, the race crosses the sand dunes and rocks of one of the most inhospitable places on earth, where temperatures can range between 130 degrees and 30 degrees in a day. And that discounts the infamous winds and sandstorms.
Competitors must haul all their food, clothing, first-aid and emergency gear for the entire week in a backpack. They are provided with water along the route and a tarp to sleep under at night. That’s it.
The journey begins
Why someone would leave plush surroundings to experience almost inhumane rigors is a story that dates back about five years for Callos.
tells the story, he had built a successful career as a consultant and advisor to CEOs. However, his hectic work schedule and corporate lifestyle caused the former athlete to balloon to 220 pounds.
Although Callos was happy to tell corporate big-wigs how they needed to blend work with a healthy lifestyle “I wasn’t walking my talk,” Callos said.
While he had all the outward accoutrements of success, Callos says “I was incomplete because of how I had let myself go. I was embarrassed.”
One day at Disney World, Connor asked his dad to swim with him at the hotel pool. Callos demurred because he was ashamed at how he looked in a bathing suit.
Callos says he knew he had to do something; his self-esteem had bottomed out. Gyms didn’t work because Callos says, “I’m a guy who needs a finish line.”
That led him back to the things he loved as a boy – running, swimming and biking. And that led to a triathlon.
Eventually, Callos entered his first sprint triathlon (500-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride, 3-mile run) after which, he says “I practically needed medical attention.”
Callos came up with the goal to finish a full Ironman Triathlon, a one-day endurance event that consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike leg and 26.2-mile full marathon.
After completing three of the shorter triathlons, Callos competed in and finished his first full Ironman triathlon in Tempe, Ariz.
While many would simply chalk the accomplishment off their personal bucket list and simply continue to live a healthy lifestyle, that’s not in Callos’ makeup. He needed another finish line.
Nine months after his Ironman, Callos undertook competing in the Ultraman World Championships, a three-day, three-stage, 320-mile event in Hawaii. It consists of a 6.2-mile ocean swim and 90-mile bike ride on day one, a 171.4-mile bike ride on day two, and finally a double marathon.
At 47, Callos’ says his goals in the event are just to complete the job, reach the finish line. He points out that he was slowest person to complete the Ultraman without being disqualified. Competitors have a 12-hour time limit each day. Callos’ final time: 35 hours, 18 minutes, 10 seconds.
Drive or obsession?
When asked if he’s obsessed, Callos says he is. But he prefers a different word – driven.
These days, an entire wing of the Callos home is given over to John and his training. He has a kitchen stocked with protein powders and supplements. He has a bathroom with a washer/dryer to clean running clothes between twice-a-day workouts.
His “hobby” has consequence in his marriage. He and April have talked about the cost of the training, the time it takes him away from family and business and, maybe toughest, time lost with Connor.
“My wife is unhappy that the attention is not on my son, and that’s fair,” Callos acknowledges. “She’d like me to be around more, and I do my best.”
Callos says if he is home he makes it a point to make it to his son’s lacrosse games. Typically, Callos gets there by either running or biking.
While Callos is being interviewed, his father John Sr., drops by.
When the elder Callos is asked about April’s reaction to her husband’s training, he jokes “she says he does it because he’s getting old.”
Apparently, Callos’ whole family kids him about his escapades. Then Callos Sr. turns more serious. “I think he just likes to win. He’s a champion.”
The younger Callos says he tries to set a positive model for his son and show him lessons about tenacity and following through. He talks with pride about Connor being on his crew during the Hawaii race.
“I hope some of this rubs off,” Callos says.
In the Marathon des Sables, Callos is clearly engaging in his biggest challenge. He says after Hawaii, he was looking for the toughest event he could find.
Callos failed to get a lottery spot in the Western States 100-mile race.
Then, along came this.
Callos was told there was a three-year waiting list, but when a competitor cancelled, he jumped at the chance.
Race preparation
A visit to the Callos home is like visiting Mr. Gadget. Callos says he has spent hundreds of hours studying the technical aspects of the race, not to mention the deep-sand training runs to Newport Beach or workouts in the home sauna to acclimate to heat. Or the nights in the backyard tent.
Callos jokes that he doesn’t want his business partners to know the hours he has devoted to research.
“I’m an Eagle Scout and our motto is always `Be prepared,”‘ Callos says. “I keep thinking, `What if, what if.’ The `what if’ scenarios can drive you crazy.”
Through scrupulous planning, incredible attention to detail and parsimony over every gram of weight, Callos has winnowed his backpack to a lean 16 pounds.
This has been done by vacuum-packing meals into 4-ounce portions, arranged so Callos gets the highest ratio of calories per ounce. He has even excised labels and extra pockets from his gear and tested the relative weights of disposable water bottles.
Scattered on a table is a life in miniature. There’s a flashlight the size of a fingernail, a lighter not much bigger than a half-thumb, a jacket that fits into a holder the size of a baseball, a 1-pound sleeping bag, a stove made from a Foster’s beer can.
Callos’ main “luxury item” is a foam mattress to sleep on that weighs a knee-buckling 7.6 ounces. He is considering trimming the pad to make it more form-fitting and, of course, lighter.
Also on the luxury list are several iPod shuffles that contain books on tape and music, including “Linkin Park for the dunes. I need something angry,” Callos says.
The heaviest item is the required first-aid kid with blister tapes, anti-venom for scorpion stings and an emergency flare to be used only if you are dropping out of the race.
Of course, even an Eagle Scout can’t prepare for everything.
Callos knows about the microfine Sahara sand that infuses everything it touches, but until he experiences it he can’t know what it’s like. Ditto the notorious sirocco winds. In 1994, a competitor got lost in a storm and wandered for nine days before being found.
The biggest fear is the blisters that can ruin feet.
And then there’s the Achilles injury Callos is nursing, but he prefers not to talk about that. He tweaked it doing “nothing,” just a 30-mile training run.
Callos says they may medevac him out, but he won’t quit.
If it sounds like madness, there are about 900 racers who have signed up and paid thousands of dollars each in entry fees for the race, which is celebrating its 25th year.
The exact route and distance are shrouded in secrecy, to prevent competitors from going onto the course and secreting food and supplies. Callos suspects organizers may make the route extra tough this year to commemorate the anniversary.
After six days in the desert and untold agony, what do those who complete the race get as a reward?
According to the event’s Web site, they get a medal and a box lunch.
Talk about luxury.
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